Laundry unit



y 11 7, 1938- R. G. CURTIS 2,1 17,406

LAUNDRY UNIT Original Filed July 16, 1936 2 eets-Sheet l w WWW M M 7 ii \/fi/ 10 Z1 Z0 Jfi Z'Snnentor WM Mum May 17, 1938. R. G. CURTIS 2,117,406

LAUNDRY UNIT Original Filed July 16, 1936 2 SheetsSheet 2 inventor flaw/a m 6. (will;

/ Gttomegs Patented May 17, 1938 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAUNDRY UNIT Original application July 16, 1936, Serial No. 90,943. Divided and this application October 5, 1937, Serial No. 167,367

5 Claims.

The invention relates to a laundry unit, and more particularly to a wringer support and washtub attachment for connecting two tubs together; and the present invention is a division of my copending application for Laundry units, Serial No. 90,943, filed July 16, 1936, which discloses and claims a detachable leg construction for laundry units.

The object of the improvement is to provide a stand especially adapted for substantially square or rectangular tubs, in which a pair of tubs are rigidly clamped together at the upper and lower edges of their opposed side walls and legs are detachably secured to the outer corners of the two tubs, the legs being preferably provided with casters whereby the two tubs form a rigid, portable unit having all of the uses of the ordinary stationary tubs, besides the advantages of being portable and easily knocked down for shipping or storage.

Another object is to provide a new and eflicient clamping plate for clamping adjacent chime portions of the two tubs rigidly together.

A. still further object is to provide a simple and effective wringer support adapted to clamp the rim bead portions of opposed side walls of the two tubs together and to provide a rigid support for mounting a wringer between the tubs.

The above objects, together with others which will be apparent from the drawings and following description, or which may be hereinafter referred to, may be attained by constructing the improved laundry unit in the manner illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of a laundry unit embodying the invention as applied to a pair of tubs;

Fig. 2, an enlarged, detail sectional view showing the manner in which the chime portions of the two tubs are clamped together by the improved clamping plate forming a part of the invention;

Fig. 3, a detail perspective view of the improved clamping plate;

Fig. 4, a detail perspective view of the improved wringer support;

Fig. 5, an enlarged detail sectional view showing the manner in which the rim bead portions of opposed sides of the two tubs are rigidly clamped together by the improved wringer support, and the manner in which the same supports a wringer clamp;

Fig. 6, an enlarged detail sectional view showing the manner in which the legs are detachably secured to the corner portions of the chime of a tub; and

Fig. 7. a detail perspective view of one of the clamping clips for clamping the leg to the corner of the tub.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the drawings.

The invention contemplates the provision of a laundry unit comprising a stand adapted to be removably secured to one or two laundry tubs, each tub having a drain outlet and a hose by means of which the water may be drained from the tub when the washing is finished, the stand being preferably mounted on casters so that it may be easily moved to position each tub beneath a spigot or the like for filling tubs and then moved to the position where it is desired to use the tubs for washing. Thus, a laundry unit is provided which has all of the advantages of the ordinary stationary tubs and at the same time is easily portable.

It is known that portable laundry units have been produced, but the present invention contemplates the provision of such a unit which is of simple and inexpensive construction, is strong and rigid in structure, consists of few parts, and is easily and quickly assembled or knocked down, and requires a minimum of space for storage or shipping.

The tubs to which the invention is especially adapted are preferably of substantially square or rectangular shape, as indicated generally at ill in the drawings, the side walls being slightly tapered toward the bottom and the corners being preferably rounded at the bottom of the tub.

Thus, as shown in'the drawings, the corner portions i I of the chimes ii are preferably rounded. The tubs Iii may be of the same general construction as illustrated in the U. S. Letters Patent of Martin L. Hunker, for Laundry units, No. 2,053,836, issued September 8, 1936, having the substantially flat side walls IS with angular or rounded corners.

For the purpose of readily and easily draining the water from the tub when the washing is flnished, a drain spout may be centrally located in the bottom of the tub, as illustrated and described in said Hunker patent, and a hose i4 may be connected thereto and provided at its free end with a stopper l5, which may be attached to the tree end portion of the hose as by a chain to prevent the stopper from becoming lost. A hook I! may also be connected to the free end portion of the hose and adapted to be hooked over the similar parts as shown in Fig. 1, the opposed sides of the two tubs are connected together at their upper and lower edges as by the wringer support indicated generally at 29 and the chime clamping plate indicated generally at 30 respectively, and the legs II are connected to the two outer corners of the chime portions 01 each tub.

The wringer support includes an inverted channel strip 23' of suitable gauge, the depending flanges 3i fitting down within the rim beads 32 of the opposed side walls of the two tubs as best shown in Fig. 6.

Two clamping clips, indicated generally at 33,

are connected to the channel bar 29', between the upper portions of the side walls of the two tubs as by the bolts 34. These clips are formed of heavy gauge sheet metal, beingpreferably formed from rectangular blanks, the central portion oi which is bent downward at each side forming the curved flanges 35 between which the nut 38 of the clamping bolt 34 is held against rotation. The legs 31 of these clamping clips are bent inwardly into contact with the bolt 34 and then outwardly at their upper ends so as to engage under the rim beads 32 01' the tub.

By tightening the bolts 34, it will be seen that these clamping clips are pulled upward, tightly clamping the rim bead portions of the two tubs together while the wider lower ends 01 the clips 33 fit snugly between the adjacent side walls of the two tubs. These clamping clips 33 are preferably spaced apart the same distance as the usual wringer clamps upon the ordinary wringer, which are indicated generally at 38 so that the wringer may be clamped solidly upon the tubs at the points reinforced by these clips 33.

The chime clamping plate 30 is formed of heavy gauge sheet metal and is also preferably formed from a rectangular blank, whereby transversely and longitudinally curved flanges 39 are easily produced at the ends of said clamping plate. Upturned angular flanges 43 are formed at the side edges of the clamping plate 30 and adapted to be received within the opposed chime portions i2 of the two tubs, as best shown in Fig. 2. The angular clamping clips 4! are attached to the clamping plate 30 by means of the bolts 42 and nuts 43 and cooperate with said plate 30 for rigidly clamping the chime portions of the two tubs together.

The angular downturned end 44 of each clamping clip 4| is received within a socket 45 formed in the plate 30 and the other end of the clamping clip engages over the chime bead 25. When the bolts 42 are tightened, the clamping plate 30 is thus tightly clamped upon the chime portions of the two tubs rigidly clamping the tubs together at this point. The nuts 43 will engage the fiat side walls of the tubs, as shown in Fig. 2, thus preventing rotation thereof.

.It will thus be seen that the clamping plate 30,

wringer support 29 and four legs l3 when connected to a pair of tubs in the manner shown in Fig. I produce a complete portable two tub laundry unit of strong and rigid construction and which may be quickly and easily assembled or knocked down and which requires a minimum of space for storage or shipping in the knocked down condition.

I claim:

1. A laundry unit including two tubs having rims and chimes, a support comprising a clamping plate fixed to the adjacent chime portions of the two tubs, and means clamping the adjacent rim portions of the two tubs together.

2. A laundry unit including two substantially rectangular tubs having rims and chimes having beads, a support including a clamping plate located between the tubs and having upturned flanges at its side edges received within the adjacent chime portions of the tubs, clamping clips upon the plate engaging over the chime beads, and means locking the clamping clips upon the plate for gripping the chime beads between the plate and the clamping clips.

3. A laundry unit including two substantially rectangular tubs having rims and chimes having beads, a support comprising a clamping plate lwated between the tubs and having upturned flanges at its side edges received within the adjacent chime portions of the tubs, clamping clips upon the plate engaging over the chime beads, means locking the clamping clips upon the plate for gripping the chime beads between the plate and the clamping clips and means for clamping adjacent rim portions of the tubs together.

4. In a laundry unit, a pair of adjacent laundry tubs having a plurality of upwardly diverging, substantially fiat side walls having rim heads, a wringer support comprising an inverted channel bar fitting over the adjacent rim portions of the two tubs, a clamping clip having its lower portion fitting between and engaging adjacent upper portions of the side walls of the-two tubs and having upwardly disposed legs engaging the undersides of the rim beads of the two tubs, and means for clamping said channel bar and said clamping clip together to grip the rim beads of the tubs therebetween, whereby a clothes wringer may be clamped upon these portions of the side walls of the tubs without distortion oi the walls.

5. In a laundry unit, a pair of adjacent laundry tubs having a plurality of upwardly diverging, substantially flat side walls having rim beads, a wringer support comprising an inverted channel bar fitting over the adjacent rim portions of the two tubs, a clamping clip having its lower portion fitting between and engaging adjacent upper portions of the side walls of the two tubs and having upwardly disposed legs engaging the under sides of the rim beads of the two tubs, and a bolt for clamping said channel bar and said clamping clip together to grip the rim beads of the tubs therebetween, the legs of the clamping clip being bent inward at their middle portions to engage said bolt, whereby a clothes wringer may be clamped upon these portions of the side walls of the tubs without distortion of the walls.

ROWLAND G. CURTIS. 

